


Sympathy, Tenderness

by hydesboy



Category: Jekyll & Hyde - Wildhorn/Wildhorn & Bricusse & Cuden/Bricusse, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Genre: F/F, emma would choose violence if she has to, hyde trauma exists, they are in love but also sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:22:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28473867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydesboy/pseuds/hydesboy
Summary: Maybe the someone like Henry for Lucy was not the unpleasant Edward, but rather his lovely partner, EmmaI honestly can't write romance and fluffy love things so this is shorter than I'd want it to be, but I am still making this everyone else's problemI also very vaguely mentioned the fact the Henry and Emma marriage is a lavender marriage (also referred to as a marriage of convenience) because Utterson exists
Relationships: Emma Carew/Lucy Harris
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Sympathy, Tenderness

"Oh, little love," the blonde sighed as gently as could be, pausing her repetitive movements partway through, the comb still buried in the blackness of the other woman's hair, "You do not need to tolerate his cruelty, you do know that, right?"  
Emma hadn't realised that guilty sympathies could have a taste, them being a feeling and all, and yet as she gazed upon the horrid bruises so proudly displayed upon the other woman's neck. It was not just that they were there at all, which was horrible enough in its own right, but that it was accompanied by a cluster of fading bruises, evidently not all from the same time. As much as Emma would like to consider herself rational, she had gritted her teeth so hard her jaw already set about aching.

"An' wot else would you 'ave me do then?" Lucy replied, turning her head ever so slightly to face the other woman. This had not been said defensively, but rather with such a hopelessness that made the upbeat facade she had been trying so desperately to cling to.

"I suppose you could strike the brute," said the other, and while she had intended this to come as a joke, she realised she meant this with complete sincerity, "In fact, I give you my complete permission to do whatsoever you might need to in order to avoid Edward hurting you again, and I am positive that Henry would encourage it entirely." As she spoke, she was in the process of deciding that regardless of whether Lucy was willing to fight back or not, she would give the man a piece of her mind the next time she had the misfortune of crossing paths with one Edward Hyde.

"Strike 'im?" Lucy repeated, letting out a bitter laugh, "You've never been too close to 'im when 'e's in a poorly mood, 'ave you?" As she spoke, a distracted hand raised to her throat as if she could chase away some foul phantom demon of her memory. "'orrible..." she whispered, voice quieter than a spring breeze, "Nothin' like your 'enry, even if sometimes 'e tries so 'ard to pretend." With this said, she shuddered, but the thoughts never shifted in her mind.

"Lucy," Emma said as sternly as she dared to with the frightened scrap of a woman before her, "If he believes you are incapable of defending yourself, he will feel free to do as he wishes, but I know you are able to dissuade him. While what you say is true, I have tried my hardest to avoid crossing paths with the man masquerading as my husband and one of my most dear friends, that does not mean I am unaware of his wicked ways. He shan't hurt you again, my love, of that I promise you with all that I am, and all that I am capable of being."

The aristocrat's words hung heavy in the air with the weight of an early summer's mist. It was a grand exclamation, both women knew this, but sitting there in the privacy of the room, the man in question off doing goodness only knew what - not that whatever Edward Hyde was doing could be considered good, the very concept of goodness turning its face away from him when he set out into world at night - they felt as though they could believe this, even just for a moment. The silence was broken with a sniffle, and it was this very sniffle that let Lucy realise that she was crying at all, but once she realised the harder it became to control it.  
With a tender touch, Emma brushed away the tears that so clumsily tumbled down the other's cheeks, ignoring the glittering of fresh tears that were attempting to bud in the corners of her own eyes.

With a gentle clutter, Emma put aside the comb that she had been using to idly brush the other woman's hair, having altogether forgotten she was holding it. With a gesture that was clearly asking for permission from the other, a permission that was happily granted, Emma pulled Lucy into a tight hug, wanting to offer the poor, tormented woman even a scrap of safety in a world that seemed so determined to cause her nothing but pain. The blonde planted a gentle kiss upon the other's forehead, and then her cheek, and then the other, landing finally in a kiss upon her lips before drawing away for a moment. When she was absolutely sure she could see something of a smile playing upon the lips of her dear Lucy, she rested her forehead against her forehead.

The two sat there in a pleasant silence, neither wanting to be the first to make the first movement away, happy to simply be able to share a moment in their shared space. There was no place for pain, for all the sorrows that might plague their daily lives. Even for a moment, Emma wondered if maybe at that moment nobody was suffering at the hands of Edward Hyde, and Henry's absence had simply meant he had gone off to the home of Gabriel John Utterson, perhaps even sharing a similar moment of gentle intimacy, but she was not so naive as to hope for such happy things. Even if it was just the two of them there, Emma thought she was happy enough for all of London.

Unfortunately a glance at the clock drew Lucy from her own happy thoughts.

"I'm late," she exclaimed, though still gave the other a chance to begrudgingly move away so that Lucy could stand, "I'm so sorry, love, I 'ave to go. Spider'd 'ave my 'ide if I'm not there in time."

Emma did not like to think of Lucy anywhere near the Spider either, staring at her in ways that made her skin crawl just thinking about it, but at present she understood it would not be safe for her to help the woman she loved escape. Not yet. Not until she had the money to her name, not until any suspicion about her inviting Lucy into her and Henry's home. There were too many things that she had to wait for, but it would be worth it in the end, she promised herself.

"I promise I'll come back next time it's safe for me to, I love you!"

With Lucy's parting words, the red clad woman slipped out of the door and vanished into the night, leaving the other woman gazing out after her with the faintest hope of seeing her one more time before she was swallowed up by the darkness once again.


End file.
